Are Deaths From Liver Cancer, Lung Cancer, Kidney Cancer, and Leukemia Clustered in San Antonio?

Abstract of Journal Article -- October 2002

By F. Benjamin Zhan, PhD

High mortality rates per square mile associated with liver cancer, lung cancer, kidney cancer, and leukemia have been reported in San Antonio. Without taking into account the underlying at-risk population, cancer mortality rates per square mile alone may give the public a misleading picture. This study conducts a geographic cluster analysis of mortality of the four types of cancer mentioned above, considering both mortality cases and the at-risk population. The analysis uses statewide cancer mortality data over an 8-year period from 1990 through 1997. Results from the study indicate that only one statistically significant cluster of liver cancer mortality cases exists in Bexar County and its adjacent counties compared with the rest of Texas. No clusters of lung cancer, kidney cancer, or leukemia exist in San Antonio.